How to Find a Profitable Craft Show to Sell Your Crafts

If you're an experienced craft maker who wants to start selling your crafts to the public, a local art and craft show is a great way to get started. You can test the market for your craft without risking a great deal of time or capital. If you live in at least a moderately sized city, you can find a variety of craft shows to choose from, you just need to know how to find them.

Here are some ideas:

1. Call your local Chamber of Commerce.They usually have listings of the art and craft shows coming to your area as well as other special events. Don't rule out events such as local festivals and celebrations to market your crafts. Some crafters have had excellent results at these functions. Consider becoming a member of your Chamber of Commerce It's a great way to network.

2. Network with other handmade jewelry makers and crafters in your area and get their opinion on the best art and craft shows. This has the added advantage of allowing you to find out if a particular show is worth your time and effort. Why not get the email addresses of crafters and jewelry exhibitors at shows and start a craft show email list to share information about upcoming craft shows and events?

3. Call your local churches and other nonprofit organizations and ask if they have any upcoming craft shows planned. Be careful with these shows as many of them draw more lookers than buyers. Still, the cost for exhibiting at these shows is usually quite low and it's a good way to get feedback on your crafts.

4. Subscribe to publications such as Sunshine Artist Magazine that list craft shows by region. These magazines can be excellent resources for finding larger, juried craft shows. Unfortunately, they usually don't list the smaller local events.

5. Call your local craft and bead stores to see if they know of any upcoming art and craft shows. Some of the craft stores will post notices of upcoming craft events on their store bulletin boards.Be sure to check this list frequently.

6. Call your local shopping malls to inquire about any special sales they might be sponsoring.Malls will often sponsor shows for temporary vendors who sell arts, crafts, and antiques. If it's taking place in a high traffic mall, sales can be quite good.

7. Check local bulletin boards at schools, churches,libraries, etc for announcements of craft
shows.

8. Ask, ask, ask! Ask people that you might encounter in craft stores and supply houses if they know of any upcoming shows.

9. Finally, search the web regularly for the announcement of shows. I usually do a search with the name of my city and state + craft shows. When I searched using my own city and state plus craft shows, I found a long list of potential shows. There are also a variety of websites that list craft shows by area.

Now that you know how to find a local art and craft show to sell your crafts, it's time to make some sales!